Arrival of the RX-2000

Doctor Joshua Smithy sat on his couch at home, in a small city on the west coast of America. He was bent over a pile of papers on his coffee table, slowly reading and correcting them. The radio nearby was playing a jaunty tune. It may be the year 2030, but the world hadn't changed much since 2000. The world was run by the four major super powers, America, Russia, China and, more recently, Japan. There had been major advances in computer technology, some war here and there and a small science colony on the moon.

Joshua was a young man of twenty six with an average body and a small goatee and mustache. He had a nice dark brown haircut and a sharp smile that had caught more than one young school girl's heart. He wore gold, half lens reading glasses.

The song on the radio faded out and the radio DJ came on and started to talk. She had a smooth voice and a quick tongue.

"This announcement marks the first day of the fifty first week of the impossible riddle and the mystery prize! Only a week until this question makes a year long of failures. Three hundred and sixty five failed answers." The DJ said.

Josh had been trying to figure out the answer to the riddle for almost three months now. Even having a doctorate in Mathematics wasn't enough to give him the answer to the puzzle.

"For those who haven't heard it yet, listen closely, because I only say it once a day. Here goes..." The DJ called, "Three gods A, B, and C are called, in no particular order, True, False, and Random. True always speaks truly, False always speaks falsely, but whether Random speaks truly or falsely is a completely random matter. Your task is to determine the identities of A, B, and C by asking three yes-no questions; each question must be put to exactly one god. The gods understand English, but will answer all questions in their own language, in which the words for yes and no are da and ja, in some order. You do not know which word means which. Please give your answers with explained reasoning."

"That's it!" Josh cried, having a strong idea.

He snatched up the phone and dialed the radio station's number. The phone rang and the DJ picked up the phone.

"One oh one point six FM, where the women are loud and the music is louder! Please turn down the radio and give us your name and what you do!" The DJ said into the phone.

"My name is Doctor Joshua Smithy and I'm a professor at Whitesmith university." Josh told the DJ.

"Okay Doc Josh! What three questions are you going to ask?" The DJ asked.

"Okay, follow me closely on this one. My first question is to God B! If I asked you 'Is A Random?', would you say Ja?" Josh asked.

"Ja!" The DJ called.

"Okay. That means that either you or A is random. Now, God C, if I asked you 'Are you True?', would you say Ja?" Josh asked.

"Ja!" The DJ said again.

"Okay, now because of a logical decision through elimination, Ja must mean yes because if truth was asked the first question, Ja would mean yes. If false is asked, he is lying and so Da would be no. This is because If B had been truth and had said Ja then C could not have said Da because it would be a truth and therefore must've answered Ja. If B had been false, then he couldn't have answered truthfully and Ja would mean No. So then if C is asked, he would've answered Ja and, proving himself to be random. So the last question is to God C again. If I asked you 'Is B random?' would you say Ja?"

"Da!" The Dj said with a tone of amazement.

"Okay, because of the series of questions, it can be deduced that the god I have not talked to yet is Random. That also means that B is truth and C is false. Am I correct?" Joshua asked.

"Well...I...My god...yes~!" The DJ cried.

There was a siren and a loud clanging bells for almost a minute.

"We have a winner! Doctor Joshua Smithy from Whitesmith University has answered the impossible riddle correctly! God A is random! God B is Truth! God C is False! He explained his reasoning and explained correctly, which nobody has done yet!" The DJ cried.

"So what do I get?" Josh asked.

"The secret prize for the Impossible riddle is the following! One M-1900 Robotic maid worth a whopping thirty thousand dollars, donated by a technological institute in Tokyo, Japan as payment for marketing on this station!" The DJ said, "It will be delivered in a few days right after we get some information from you."

*******

Three days later, there was a knock at the door around noon.

"That must be my new Maid!" Josh said, jumping up.

He lived in a small two bedroom house in a nice suburb. His house had a single attached garage and a few hundred square feet of yard. His living room was furnished nicely and his bathroom had a large bathtub and a shower stall in it. He owned one nice luxury car and took occasional vacations. Overall, he had a nice life by himself.

But he had never considered any of the new age AI technology. He was a simple man and could take care of himself. However, the prospect of a free maid was alluring. One of the most popular ones was the M series of Maid Robots. They were robots that looked similar to humans, but were blatantly robotic because of their digital voices and robot movements. Bipedal with plastic skirts and glass eyes, they weren't really integrated into society very well. It would be nice, however, to have someone who would cook breakfast and do his laundry.

But as Josh walked around the couch towards the front door, there was a strange feeling coming over him. Something seemed mildly amiss. Turning the handle, he opened the light weight titanium door and sighed. It was just a young girl standing on his front porch.

"Yes young lady?" Josh asked, not really paying much attention to the girl.

"Android Maid...I...what?" Josh said, confused as he stood out of the way.

She strode in and stood next to the couch, looking completely human. If she were an android, she is so far beyond anything Josh had ever seen before, that he can't really tell the difference between her and a real girl.

"What is your name master?" The girl asked.

"I am Doctor Joshua Smithy. Are you really an android?" Josh asked as he closed the door.

"I am." She nodded, pointing at her ear.

He just realized that her ears were actually six inch long android antennae ear pieces that were about an inch wide at the tip. They angled away from her face, aligned with her jaw line. They were simple flat white plastic with small black lines around the ends of them. The light pink hair that fell about her shoulders drew attention away from them. Other than the ears, she looked nothing like a robot or an android. She actually wore normal maid's clothes, not artificial attachments. Her clothing entailed a white undershirt and a dark blue dress that flared out around her waist and reached her knees. Over that was a white apron with frilled edges. She also wore black low heels with light stockings.

"I was told I was getting an M-1900...why are you here?" Josh asked.

"This is the address I was told to deliver myself to. I wasn't informed of who my master was to be. However, it is very nice to meet you Doctor." The girl bowed to him.

"What is your name?" Josh asked, walking back to the couch.

"I am RX-2000, Android Maid." She said, "However, you are free to change my name Doctor."

"My own name? I...well...I don't know...I mean...My memory banks are empty with exception to one file that has my name and the location I am to go to. I don't know anything else." She said, clasping her hands together.

"You're a maid and you don't know anything?" Josh asked, looking up at her over his glasses.

"I'm not even sure what a maid is..." She said, putting a finger to her lips.

"Well...do you have communication abilities with computers?" Josh asked her, dropping his glasses about his neck on their string.

"Quick and advanced communication actually. Here, this is my communication device." She said, twisting the end of her white ear piece, "What did you need to connect me for?"

The half inch tip of the ear unsnapped from the antennae and she handed it to Josh. There was a small metal plug in the end of it for attaching to a computer.

"I thought I would simply download my collection of encyclopedias to you and that would give you the knowledge you need." Josh said, flipping open his laptop.

"Really? What's an encyclopedia?" She said, sitting down next to Josh.

"It's...well...you'll find out when I download it to you." Josh said with a smile.

She scooted closer to him to see the computer screen and he couldn't help but notice how soft and warm her skin was. She wasn't like an android at all. In fact, she felt so human that he thought for a moment that this was all a prank by his students.

It took just a minute or two for the computer to transfer the data to her and she nodded.

"I understand now. A maid is someone who does housework, cooks and takes care of the employer." She said, "Also...I think I like the name Susan."

"Why's that?" Josh asked, looking up at her.

"It sounded nice." Susan smiled.

"You aren't anything like any AI I've ever met before." Josh said, handing her communication device back to her, "Or like any android for that matter."

"Really? Why's that?" Susan said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well that's one thing. You have an actual personality. You act like a human would act. The only way a robot does that is if it's programmed to. You've already shown me emotions that I guarantee weren't programmed into you." Josh pointed out, "Robots don't have freedom of will, but you've already shown me you do by sitting down on this couch and observing the computer. You were never told to do so, you chose to yourself."

"Is that a bad thing? I apologize for thinking for myself." Susan said with an innocence that didn't have the slightest hint of sarcasm in it.

"No, it's not a bad thing. I just...I thought they didn't sell AI's like you yet. Where did you come from?" Josh asked, turning back to his stack of papers.

"I was manufactured in Tokyo, Japan in the high security section of Akyatoriama Robotics. I was shipped to America and placed in a large high security facility until I was activated and told to deliver myself here." Susan explained.

"Whoa! High security facility? Somehow, I'm starting to think you were sent to me by mistake. I've got to call the radio station and figure this out before I get in a lot of trouble." Josh said, dropping his pencil and picking up his cellular.

The phone rang and the DJ picked up. She wasn't talking like her radio personality, in fact she sound like a normal school girl now.

"Hello? You've reached one oh one point six radio station. What can I do for you?" She asked.

"Well, this is Josh, the one who won the contest." Josh said.

"Oh Josh, hello! How is your M-1900 working out?" She asked jovially.

"Well...that's what I'm calling about. I didn't receive the robot I was told." Josh said.

"I'm sorry Josh, there are no returns, refunds or exchanges. You should've received an M-1900 and if you didn't, it is not our fault. We told our carrier to ship it to your address and it would be their fault if anything went astray. Please have a nice day." She said quickly, hanging up the phone.

"Apparently they don't know anything." Josh sighed, putting down the phone, "What should I do?"

"Keep me?" Susan said, holding up her hands, "I quite enjoy it here actually. You have a quaint abode and you seem to be a nice master."

"You enjoy it here? Since when do robots feel joy?" Josh asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I feel all kinds of emotions. Like I felt a little sad when you were trying to get rid of me. You are my registered master and I wish to serve you." Susan said, nodding her head happily.

"You better tell me all about yourself. Obviously your not a normal robot and I need to know what maintenance or such that I will have to acquire for you." Josh said, looking up at her.

"Well I am completely self supporting. I only require a source of organic sugar, protein and a number of fats in order to supply my micro-fission reactor that charges my energy cells. I may require occasional cleansing as my skin and outer flesh is made of a 'living polymer' that feels, sweats and even mends itself when necessary." Susan explained.

"Wait...so you need food and a shower?" Josh asked.

"Yes, human food contains adequate sugars, proteins and fats to supply my core and a shower would work fine as a cleansing device." Susan said, "There's also one more thing...my extensive and highly advanced micro computer systems and motor systems require daily self maintenance that can only can only be conducted when I am in a shut off state for approximately six to eight hours."

"So you need to sleep?" Josh said flatly.

"Yes, that is a wonderful example. If you had a location in the house you wouldn't mind me residing in for that length of time, perhaps a closet or such. I am perfectly capable of conducting my maintenance in an upright position." Susan said.

"How about you just sleep on the couch instead. It's got a hide-a-bed in it." Josh said.

"A horizontal position would be optimal for nightly maintenance...it would relieve stress on my motor systems, allowing for better recovery." Susan said, tapping her chin, "I will stay on the couch."

"Wonderful." Josh said with a loud chuckle, "So you eat, sleep and bathe like a normal person. Why would your creators go through the effort of doing such things. Wouldn't it be more efficient to make you another way?"

"Actually, no. Because I require no external power source except for organic material, I am more efficient than my predecessors. Also, my advanced motor systems allow for intricate motions that even humans have troubles producing. As for the external organic systems, those are a realism modification made by my creator for unknown reasons. The basic version of my model comes with a rubber-latex skin coating that gives the appearance of human skin, but not the feeling or warmth." Susan explained.

"I've noticed another thing...you're breathing. Why is that?" Josh asked, looking at her chest, which was rising and falling gently.

"My Fission Core requires a source of outside carbon dioxide used to break down the organic materials. It also produces oxygen that must be expelled. Ironically enough, the breathing of a mammal is just about perfect for delivery and removal of said gasses. In emergencies, my Fission Core can be shut down for up to twenty four hours in situations that require me to go without breathing, be it swimming or in an airless environment." Susan said, "Do you have any other questions master?"

"Yes, just one. How complete is this...realism modification?" Josh asked a little nervously.

"It is a hundred percent complete. It was fully installed when I was constructed." Susan said.

"No, I mean...how real does it make you? How close to a human's body are you?" Josh asked, looking down at her chest.

"Oh! Well, instead of a digital voice modulator, I have a highly sophisticated digital system that uses a human's tongue and lips to modulate sound as a normal human would. My mouth also contains artificial saliva glands to assist in the consumption of organic material. Further than that, breasts are realistically textured to mimic a fertile human female's and my genitals are realistically human. They include realistic engorgement and moistening from sexual stimulation and my anus is tied realistically to my feeling systems to cause lifelike convulsions when stimulated. However, both are purely aesthetic, used only for the master's pleasure. Neither are functional in terms to their human counterparts. I neither defecate nor urinate and I am incapable of human reproduction." Susan explained without any sort of modesty or worry.

"Is there a problem Master? I can't understand what you're saying." Susan asked.

"You know what. You can sleep in my bed. I'll sleep on the couch here." Josh said, sitting down on the couch.

"But Master, I don't want to impose upon you. Please, I'll sleep on the couch if you want me to." Susan said, sitting down next to Josh.

"It's okay, I'll sleep here. Just be sure to wake me up when the alarm goes off." Josh said, scooting away from Susan.

"Well...okay Master. If that's what you want." Susan said, getting up and walking away.

*******

"...aster...Master...Wake up Master." A girl's voice floated through Josh's dreams.

He rolled over and a finger poked him in the nose. His eyes opened and he found himself staring at a naked woman's body. His eyes opened wide and he backed up into the couch.

"S...Susan!" Josh cried, trying to scoot further back.

"Good morning Master!" Susan said, clasping her hands behind her back, "It's six am and I am going to go do laundry."

"Why...why are...you naked?!" Josh cried, looking over her bare body.

She was truly realistic. Her entire body was perfect from her perky nipples to her cute inny belly button down to her hairless genitals. He put a hand over his eyes and continued to blush deeply.

"I am doing laundry Master and my dress needed cleaning after traveling here in it." Susan said, "And I wasn't sure if you would mind me wearing something of yours or not. So I decided it would be better not to."

"It's alright, just go put on my robe." Josh said, waving her off.

"Okay Master." Susan bowed and hurried out of the room.

"Does she have any modesty?" Josh sighed, sitting up.

A blanket fell off him and he looked around the room. He remembered about Susan and his worries about where she came from. She seemed like a nice android, but it still prickled in the back of his head that she was going to be trouble in the future.